Seascaper.com - Lester McCarthy

This beautiful yacht - Farida was a job to photograph for Classic Boat magazine last week. Laurent Giles is one of my favourite yacht designers, having owned a smaller Vertue for many years I know with how well they sail. Farida was built in 1939 by Newmans of Poole and the new owner has had the vessel completely rebuilt at JWS Marine in Southsea, Portsmouth. Now owned by John Richardson who has had her restored to her original condition with many improvements. These include new cast bronze floors, new planking, frames, deck, hollow mast, refurbished coachroof, new engine and a redesigned interior. At 35ft LOA she sleeps 4 in two cabins. This is a wonderful looking boat and now in first class condition.

Monday morning was one of the busiest days on the Solent and it was quite difficult to find a safe area away from the shipping for the photography of this fine vessel. My photo boat was the Seastart rib skippered by Matt. There was a steady flow of outbound and inbound ships plus one tug keeping the harbourmaster busy. All VTS needed was a photo session taking place amongst all their traffic.

Adinais a Hylas 46 owned by Tom and Susie who have completed a 4 year cruise around the world in her, (visit AdinaYacht). They certainly chose a well appointed boat, this one is beautifully made and finished. Up on deck polished stainless steel is everywhere, a metal polishers delight. Down below you have a wonderful teak fit out, plenty of light enters the saloon from both the overhead and side windows. The aft cabin is large enough to walk around the bed and the layout of the boat gives separate forward and aft accommodation, each with its own heads, perfect when guests are onboard. Chis Beeson and I were on board for the day boat testing for a forthcoming feature in Yachting Monthly. Susie had baked fresh cinnamon rolls to go with the coffee, a thumbs-up yum yum treat.

One feels safe and secure in Adina's centre cockpit, well appointed winches are conveniently positioned on the top outer edge of the cockpit with electronic buttons to furl and unfurl the sails nearby.

The saloon is light and airy from the large windows and well finished with plenty of stowage. The boat is currently for sale with John Rodriquez, a broker specialising in blue water boats. She is currently berthed at Universal Marina on the River Hamble. Perfect to buy and set sail around the world now.

There were some 60 knot winds yesterday and the sudden gusts knocked one of the Yachting Monthly staff overboard, can you guess which one - don't worry because we rescued him safely into the camera boat, and he is back in the office editing the mag.........

This is one of the most unusual looking boats that I have ever had to photograph on the Solent and here she is on sea trial for Motor Boat & Yachting. This is the SS18 model - 18 metres in length and has the propulsion motors in the 'outrigger' hulls. In this boat there are 4 Yamaha engines of 270hp fitted in tandem in each hull with waterjet propulsion. We had a quick run up and down Southampton Water and she ran smoothly however unberthing and docking is quite an art.

Gavin Reid receives his well-deserved award at Trinity House, London. The event is sponsored by Boats.com.

A competitor in the Clipper Round the World Race 2016, he was an amateur crew member on the yacht Mission Performance. He swam out to a stricken vessel which had encountered problems returning from the Sydney to Hobart Race 2016. One of their crew had become entangled in the rigging and was stuck up the mast and they were unable to get him down. Once onboard Gavin climbed the mast to untangle him and safely lowered him down to the deck.

Gavin Reid - Yachtsman of the Year 2017 with his girlfriend Katherine Law, who filmed the rescue. They met on the race.

The Fairline 53 Open, similar to the deck saloon Gran Tourismo version launched last year, both models feature the option to choose between having a two or three cabin layout down below. This is a fun boat to drive, 53 ft of boat with easy handling and responsive steering to around 35 knots depending on your chosen engine options and from Volvo Penta and Caterpillar. The extensive open cockpit on this version is perfect for those balmy Med days with plenty of shelter from the sun and extensive sundecks. A boat like this is what will make Fairline great once more.

From my position on a cliff edge it was easy to see the wreck of SS Varvassi at low water, positioned just 200ft from the Needles lighthouse. The wreck was guarded at low water by the RNLI lifeboat from Yarmouth.

At low water yachts have to take a longer course around the Island, the wreck is in the position marked.

The inside passage is a risk but if you are racing one can save valuable time, unfortunately Alchemist hit it.

Alchemist is the second boat in foreground seen here hitting the wreck of SS Varvassi

The collision caused serious damage to the bow of the 30ft Ed Dubois half-tonner.

Within minutes the yacht was low at the bow as water came in, the mainsail was lowered and bailing out began.

Workout - a fellow competitor in the race lowered her sails and offered assistance.

Alchemist and Workout before she sank.

First on the scene was the Police launch Commander, a new high speed catamaran.

Police launch - Commander was the first rescue vessel on the scene.

Crew were transferred to the Police launch and a coastguard rib arrived.

The crew prepare to abandon Alchemist and transfer to the Police high speed catamaran, a coastguard rib is seen standing by.

The RNLI Atlantic rib from Mudeford guns the throttles and heads to the rescue scene at full speed, a wonderful sight given the conditions.

Some big seas, a strong Force 6, but not a problem for a RNLI Atlantic rib.

The Yarmouth RNLI lifeboat was in the area but on the Alum Bay side of the Needles.

The RNLI Yarmouth lifeboat speeds through the fleet to get to the stricken vessel.

Two crew members have transferred to the Police launch and two are transferred to the RNLI rib.

Crew members watch from Commander as their yacht Alchemist sinks.

Bows first Alchemist heads below the waves into 60 ft of water.

A rush of air from below escapes with a blast as she disappears.

The race continues.

A RNLI lifeboatman appears amongst the flotsam.

Fortunately all four crew were saved. The owner of the yacht Alchemist is distraught due to the loss of his beautiful wooden Ed Dubois designed half-tonner. Mark Wynter, Commodore of the Island Sailing Club had commissioned the boat to be built on the Island in 1977 and she is a well know vessel. The yacht was loaned to a skipper for the day when the accident happened. The SSVarvassi sank in 1947 and is one of the most well know wrecks in the Solent, the other being the Mary Rose which is now in Portsmouth Dockyard. To remove or blow up this wreck is considered too dangerous for the safety of the Needles and the Needles Lighthouse.

This is the new Princess 75 taken on a shoot for Motor Boat & Yachting magazine and you can read about it in their latest issue. This is Princess Yachts latest 35 knot comfortable cruising motoryacht featuring 3 guest cabins each with ensuite facilities. The owners cabin takes some beating - from your stately room forward you have your own staircase leading down to a lobby area where you find shiny glass and marble bathroom facilities. The saloon is wonderfully done, massive whole length windows and a level floor running all the way through the boat from the cockpit to the forward helm station.

The new Princess 75

The light and airy saloon, the galley features sliding frosted glass panes and the floor is level throughout.

You might think this was taken heading into the Amazon rainforest, it was off Plymouth

I have just returned form IJmuiden in Holland on a job photographing the latest E6 model from Elling for Motor Boat & Yachting magazine. It is a beautiful looking boat quite individual in appearance. Owners have various options: to cruise at the displacement speed of 8.5 knots, increase speed moderately to 12 to 15 knots, or to motor flat out at around twenty knots. At 8.5 knots a full tank of fuel of 5500 litres gives a range of 3500nm, and it was so quiet both inside and out on the aft deck that you could hear the Seakeeper gyro humming, pretty impressive. This is a big step up from the boatyard's previous model the E4. We have waited along time (the previous model was in 2004) to see a new boat from this yard.